SHANGHAI -- China's financial hub is planning to set aside 15 sq km (6 sq miles) of its suburbs as wetlands to improve the quality of its water, a major priority nationwide, state media said on Tuesday.

The Qingpu district of Shanghai is planning to develop the wetlands around Dianshan Lake, the source of about 30 percent of the city's drinking water, to act as a filter, the China Daily quoted the district's planning administration bureau as saying.

Beset by growing public concern about soiled land, air, and water, the central government has instructed the local authorities to monitor drinking water more closely.

Many visitors to Shanghai complain that the tap water smells of bleach.

The wetlands announcement comes after a string of algae outbreaks tainted drinking water supplies for millions, with a giant lake in neighbouring Jiangsu province one of the worst affected.

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The Forestry Ministry held a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday about environment and emissions problems in which Jia Zhibang, head of the State Forestry Administration, said China would speed up forest planting.